RIVERWATCH

A Marsupial Surface-Aerial Robotic Team for Riverine Environmental Monitoring

Overview

RIVERWATCH is an autonomous surface-aerial marsupial robotic team for riverine environmental monitoring. The robotic system is composed of an Autonomous Surface Vehicle (ASV) piggybacking a 6-rotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) with vertical takeoff and landing capabilities. The ASV provides the team with long-range transportation in all-weather conditions, whereas the UAV provides the team with an augmented perception of the environment. The coordinated aerial, underwater, and surface level perception allows the team to assess navigation cost from the near field to the far field, which is key for safe navigation and environmental monitoring data gathering. RIVERWATCH started as an experiment within the ECHORD project (FP7-ICT-231143).